f the tide.
Preston Singletary
Hey Leland,
Baetis maybe, but don't fail to have some big (sixes and eights) dry,
dark-colored stones, at least if you're planning to hit he lower river.
Under the near shore rocks you'll find lots of Skwala and Golden Stone
nymphs over an inch long. I've floated sections of the canyon three
For sources of patterns for beach fishing, don't overlook Johnson / Ferguson
/ Trotter's Fyfishing for Pacific Salmon. It's been almost the sole source
of information for quite a few years now. Pretty light on beach fishing,
but lots of information on bait, both zooplankton and fish. There's a
I don't know how many of you have fished Ebey Lake, it's a small,
year-round, flyfishing-only lake on the top of Ebey Hill just east of
Arlington. Several years ago the state DNR (which manages the mostly
cut-over lands at the top of the hill) put in a locked gate at the edge of
the DNR land,
Wes,
That's why I wanted to bring this to the attention of this board. I brought
it up at the WFFC meeting last night and intend to contact as many of the
other flyfishing clubs in the area as I can. Several members of the WFFC
are looking into the situation and I hope that members of other
Mark,
Little Lake and Ebey Lake are one and the same. It has always been known by
both names with the WDFW apparently preferring Ebey. You'll find it listed
in the fishing regs pamphlet as Ebey Lk. (Little Lk.).
Leland,
Help! John Thompson and I went to Kopachuck this morning and fished the
incoming tide. I fished your popper and rose 18 (count 'em EIGHTEEN)
cutthroat. Only problem: I didn't hook a single one! Man, I tried striking
faster, striking slower, not striking at all. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!
I have an 8 ft Creek Co. pontoon boat that I won at a raffle that hasn't
been out of the box. The son of a friend of mine has first crack at it, but
if he doesn't want it I'd be willing to let it go for about $300. I'll find
out whether he wants it next week.
Whil I don't have current numbers, but only a couple of years ago the
estimate was 1000 to as many as 2000 fish and, hard as it may be to believe,
conditions in Deer Creek are slo-o-o-wly improving (I know you wouldn't
think so to see it dirty up after the slightest bit of precipitation). The
Much confusion. Wilderlands e-magazine has become Great Lodge Journal. It
seems Les' efforts were so successful that the magazine was in danger of
becoming an entity on its own. When you click on Wilderlands and get a
"this page not available" message, go to the Great Lodge homepage and click
I think it's a matter of where the fishery occurs. In Alaska and BC
sockeye are normally fished for in rivers where it's easy to present a fly
to them in relatively shallow water. In Lake Washington the fish normally
hang out in water that's too deep to effectively fish with a fly. Perhaps
Try www.GreatLodge.com and look for the link to Great Lodge Journal.
JeffO,
Although the WDFW and the DNR seem to dismiss the fact that the Ebey
Mountain Road has been used for at least thirty years to access Ebey Lake,
as a claim to a public right-of-way, we are still trying to assemble all of
the pertinent facts. I would appreciate it if anyone who has used the
Keith,
I'm afraid you're probably right. The conditions that would be required to
grow big fish quickly are completely lacking in most of our acid lowland
lakes. The only way it could be done would be with complete C-and-R
regulations and we certainly shouldn't expect, even then, to have the
C'mon Swede, this is some kind of a guessing game, right? CDA= Couer
d'Alene, OK? Do I win anything?
Sounds like fun. Any more details?
Preston
I've never fished Golden Gardens at this time of the year, but there has
been some fishing for cutthroat from early fall through the first part of
the winter. Immature coho are about through the winter and spring. In the
fall mature coho can be reached from the shore, but keep in mind that
I can remember fishing for what we then called "feeder silvers" off
Possession Point in the spring with pop gear and worms, the limit in those
long-gone days was six fish under eighteen inches. As I have come to
understand it, resident silvers recapitulate the ocean-going silver's
migration in
Leland,
Though I've only taken one blackmouth off the beach at Lincoln Park, I'd
like to suggest that there's another time of year when they are available
(in a relative sense). I took a 9 1/2 pounder in March a couple of years
ago, but only after hearing about several being hooked in the
I have owned a couple of Marryat MR (MR8.5 and MR9) reels for quite a few
years and, while I have not used them extensively (usually fishing my old
Hardy St. Aidan since I can't convince myself that one needs a disc drag for
steelhead), I have taken a few summer run steelhead on them and always
I was referring to steelhead and cutts. I don't doubt that some of them,
like the Hamma Hamma, have populations of resident trout above barriers
(like the falls on the HH), but almost any "trout" you encounter below such
obstructions are almost certainly immature steelhead or sea-run cutthroat.
If you think that's combat fishing, try Hoodsport.
There was an article in Salmon Trout Steelheader a couple of years ago about
a study of several races of steelhead, utilizing electrophoretic techniques,
indicating that the genetic makeup of wild native fish in Washington is
remarkably intact. This is due largely to the very poor spawning
Jeff,
The only thing I've ever used black bear hair for was a hair wing version of
an Atlantic salmon pattern called The Sweep, and I wasn't satisfied with
that since the hair is actually not black, but a dark brown. I have, on the
other hand, found a few good uses for moose hair. I use it for
The Thor is not only "like the old, standard flies", it's one of them. It
was first tied by C. Jim Pray and was named for Walter J. Thoreson who used
it on the Eel river in 1936. Most of the traditional white-winged steelhead
flies were tied with polar bear hair and a Skykomish Sunrise, Polar
Take I-90 east to Vantage, turn south at the east end of the bridge, take
the first right at the highway 26/ highway 243 intersection and continue
south down the Columbia on 243 past Wanapum dam. Pass under the Vernita
bridge and, in about a half-mile, turn left on the Beverly-Crab Creek Road.
Scott,
I remember you asking about char in saltwater a while back. I didn't
respond because the only one I have ever caught was year before last (early
in December as I recall) at Picnic Point Park. It was approximately
thirteen inches long; I also caught three cutthroat and two immature coho
This is also the Angela who has recently made herself a pain in the ass on
Bob Ball's Piscatorial Pursuits page.
JeffO,
You're probably a little late for the cutt and dolly fishing in the mouths
of the Skagit. They move up (or down) into the lower river in March to
intercept the chum and (in even years) humpy fry that are outmigrating.
Almost anyplace in Port Susan and along the east shore of Camano Island
JeffO,
Unlike most other salmon species, the fry of the chum salmon (as well as
humpies) begin dropping down to the salt almost as soon as they hatch. They
usually arrive, pretty much en masse over a period of only a few weeks. I'm
sure that some arrive a little earlier and some later, but the
The peak time for cutthroat spawning is in March but cutthroat may enter the
rivers anytime from July through February. Some fish may be returning to
saltwater as early as March or April. Since the cutthroat, unlike steelhead,
continue to eat while on their spawning runs, many of them remain in
Wes,
Over the last few years I have changed the way I tie the Chopaka Emerger
(after all, how can you not fix something even if it ain't broke). I
borrowed some ideas from Norm Norlander and made some observations of
emerging Callibaetis and the current version is as follows:
Hook: Standard 1x
Patrick,
I hadn't heard that they had planted triploids in Chopaka. I did hear that
triploids were being planted in Chopaka, Aeneas and Ell this year. In fact
Heather Bartlett, District 6 Fish Biologist, is putting together a study and
requesting anglers to fill out angler survey forms for these
Wes,
I'd be happy to do a short article on the emerger as soon as the web page is
up.
Preston
Nothing at Lenice a week-and-a-half ago (my, how time flies) and nothing at
Dry Falls last weekend. It should be happening any time now.
I'm amazed and somewhat amused at the objections that so many people seem to
have to the stewardship stickers and, even moreso, the resistance to paying
an extra five bucks per extra vehicle. These stickers are your ticket to the
use of areas owned and maintained by the WDFW. All persons using
I was there from Friday through Monday. The first two days were VERY windy,
which didn't help much though we were still able to fish some in the more
sheltered areas. I heard good reports from the aquarium and near the lower
end of the trail from the observatory. I fished the eastern end of the
Half of this year's plants at Chopaka, as well as Ell and Aeneas, were
triploids. Heather Bartlett, WDFW District Six Biologist is carrying out a
study to determine whether triploids should become the primary species
released into Okanogan County's quality waters. Anglers fishing these three
Patrick,
I believe that's the WDFW's hope; that the triploids, with their longer
lifespan due to not having to breed, will grow to larger sizes and remain in
better condition. I know that some of the triploids planted in Lenice last
year were pretty large, but by last fall we were catching plenty
Even though Ebey lake is on publicly owned land (Department of Natural
Resources) the only road that allowed reasonable acess (it still required a
two mile hike on gravel roads from a locked DNR gate) passes over several
miles of privately owned land before reaching the edge of DNR property.
Callibaetis have been hatching at Lenice in good numbers for at least a
month now. There were rather sparse hatches of them at Dry Falls even during
last weekend's wild winds.
Original Message -
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2001 10:29 AM
Subject:
Leland and I fished the Stilly today from the Lime Quarry down to the
Nursery; nada. The river below Deer Creek is in good shape so far as color
and level are concerned. We saw one other fisherman.
Lots; sea-run cutts will frequently be literally covered with 'em.
Pinks usually begin to enter the rivers toward the very end of July and
spawning takes place through August and September. The earliest run that I
know of is that returning to the Hoodsport hatchery, sometimes showing up as
early as the first week or so of July.
As it was explained to me, the circle hook was designed as a bait hook which
could be swallowed without hooking the fish until the hook was drawn up out
of the gullet and into the mouth again, apparently hooking only as the angle
of pull changed. It's pretty hard for me to visualize, but it
Jere,
Most of the lake-resident silvers are more properly called kokanee
(Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi), the landlocked subspecies of the sockeye
salmon (O. nerka). Kokanee occur naturally in most lakes systems that host
runs of sockeye and have been planted in many other lakes over the years.
The Green River above the Howard Hanson dam is in the Tacoma watershed and
access is verboten.
A couple more notes on the Green. In years past, I've done well on
summer-runs upstream of the access point from the Kanaskat rearing ponds.
Be sure you wade up from the access, don't walk through somebody's yard.
WEAR YOUR CLEATS, these are some of the slickest rocks you'll find anywhere.
I think that salmon and steelhead hatcheries must remain an integral part of
any salmonid management program for many years to come. Remember that
recovering viable numbers of sea-run cutthroat has taken more than twenty
years; first with restrictive size and number limits in the rivers, and
It all depends on what you're fishing. If you're fishing Leland's infamous
popper, of course, a floating line is necessary. I have a tendency to use a
floating line with lightly weighted flies; bead-chain eyed streamers and the
like, or an intermediate-sink line with unweighted flies. Another
Most Washington rivers, especially those on the west side of the Cacades are
high-gradient streams with low mineral content. The resulting environment
has little insect life and consequently very little food for resident trout.
What food is available must be shared with immature salmon,
Ala Spit is on the east side of Whidbey Island, directly opposite Hope
Island. To get there cross the Deception Pass bridge bridge and drive south
on Highway 20 for 2 1/2 or 3 miles and turn left on Troxell Road. Stay on
Troxell Road until it comes down to the water. A road turns off to the
The WDFW announced yesterday that weighted flies will be prohibited on the
N. Fk of the Stillaguamish from Aug. 20 through Oct. 15. The action was
taken because anglers have been deliberately targeting wild spawning chinook
who are schooled up in a few deeper holes in the low, warm waters that
I just got my computer back from the computer hospital. Damn all creators
of computer viruses! I floated from Cicero to Arlington on Sunday and found
a few cutthroat. Judging from the lack of snaggers at Arlington I think I
can safely assume that there are no large numbers of pinks in yet.
Bill,
Kinda' hard to get to the cutts with so many humpies in the river. On
Monday we were able to find some in the North Fork, but only by fishing
where the humpies weren't. After the humpie sget on the redds, the cutts
will be back into their more normal lies (as well as below the redds
Bill,
I can't find my handy dandy reference right now, but early October sounds
about right. Let's hope that the weather doesn't do us in. As I recall,
the year when you were shooting the footage for Pete and Les' video, it
began to rain that day (September 17th) and the river was OUT until
Mike,
The popularity of the stonefly is probably due to its use as a
heavily-weighted nymph fished under a large strike indicator. This is a
technique that gained great popularity on the North Umpqua and which has
recently led to changes in the regulations there effectively outlawing it.
It's an
The launch just downstream of the now gated site immediately below the
bridge at Cicero is on WDFW property. Thanks to a couple of members of
local fly clubs (who had to convince the department that they did, indeed,
own a piece of property there). The adjacent property owner downstream was
Well, not necessarily. The whole North Fork has quite a few shallow spots
at this time of the year; all the way to the confluence. Les and I floated
from Arlington to Blue Stilly Park on the main stem yesterday and still had
to get out and drag my raft a couple of times. Fishing was pretty
Anyone interested in targeting coho in the Yakima, please be advised:
targeting salmon in a river that is closed to fishing for salmon can net you
a fine that can run to four figures. This applies to any salmon in any
river that is closed to salmon fishing, including humpies or chums in the
I certainly wish that the regulations were more concise. If you compare the
North Fork regulations with, say, the regulations governing the main stem,
you'll see that there are no provisions made for a salmon season of any
kind. I take this to mean that salmon are not to be targeted. Per the
Willy,
Couldn't agree more. For some reason people seem to think that fishing for
salmon requires large flies. I was fishing with Les Johnson on the Stilly
this fall and watching him snooker pinks with size 8 and 10 flies. In
addition to being effective, the fish were invariably hooked in the
Ambrose Bierce made quite a reputation in the latter part of the nineteenth
century; his Devil's Dictionary sold quite well, as did his fiction,
including his Civil War stories. His acerbic outlook earned him the
sobriquet Bitter Bierce. He disappeared in Mexico under mysterious
circumstances
Jim,
There have probably been several TV adaptations over the years, and I
believe I do recall there being one on Twilight Zone. I suppose the reason
it appears in so many literary anthologies is that it's such a perfect
example of the short story with an incredibly nasty zinger in the last
I think Danielson has always been an importer of cheap fishing tackle; from
Japan in the 'fifties and I suppose mostly from China these days. I
wouldn't expect much, but, hey, if it casts well for you, use it. The usual
method for straightening bamboo involves heating the section gently and
Hey, c'mon, does anyone really think that any information given out here is
so exclusive that it is not not available anywhere else? I doubt very much
if anyone who has a real secret spot would be likely to reveal it here. I
have friends who will not even reveal what fly they are using when
Pilchuck Creek runs into the north channel of the main Stilly (which splits
just below I-5 to form the island on which Silvana is located). Northbound,
cross the Stilly on the I-5 bridge and take the first exit (it used to be
called Kackman Road but now has some numerical designation which I
Brenden,
Aside from the areas I've mentioned, the only place I've fished Pilchuck is
near the bridge on the Stanwood-Bryant Road (522?). I don't know how far
I've gone above I-5 because the creek winds so much that it's hard do judge
judge the actual distance; probably only a couple of miles.
I've found that the ONLY way to keep your feet warm in very cold water is to
have a pair of insulated boot foot waders. Stocking foot waders, regardless
of the number and variety of socks worn just won't cut it. With an
insulated boot foot and a single pair of heavy wool socks (don't forget the
I believe the Gerrard rainbow are kamloops stock from Gerrard Lake in the BC
interior. Can anyone verify that?
I just looked at the Idaho Fish and Game Dept. homepage. In some of their
tech reports (as well as fishing reports) they seem to refer to the large
rainbows of Lake Coeur d'Alene as rainbows or Kamloops interchangeably.
Interestingly enough the official list of Idaho record fish features a
Sheesh, please disregard the things I said about Lake Coeur d'Alene, those
remarks should have referred to Lake Pend Orielle (record Kamloops, record
cutt/rainbow hybrid, etc.). Two big lakes with French-derived names and a
coule of glasses of wine before sitting down at the computer.
Thanks Rob, I used to have that site bookmarked, but for some reason
haven't been able to get into it for some time. I had taken to using the
USGS site by default.
Preston
I think the answer to What stage of the tide is best to fish?, is
Whatever the stage of the tide happens to be when you're there. Some
beaches fish best on an incoming tide, some over the high slack, some over
the low slack and some on the outgoing. I realize those are pretty broad
statements
A year or so ago I started using a product from Angler's Choice called
Softhead. So far, it has proven to be very durable. It's thick enough out
of the jar to flow well yet not drip and, since it's water-based, it takes a
while to dry thoroughly (2-3 hours). So far it shows no signs of
Kent,
No, I have used SofTex and wasn't tooo happy with it, it's solvent based
and, in my opinion, dries too fast (in additon to the fumes). I haven't
used any of the other products you mentioned. I started using Softhead
because, even though I have a turner, I'm kind of a disorganized guy and
While the bulk of the sea-run cutthroat enter the Stilly in the late summer
and fall, there are still fresh fish trickling in at least as late as
February. The peak of the spawning season is in March, but fish may be
spawning any time from December through May. I suspect that some fish are
still
Sound it seems to be something like
a cabezon.
Bart
- Original Message -
From:
Preston Singletary
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 4:58
PM
To: Washington Fly fishers
Subject: Sea run cutts
While the bulk of the sea-run cutthroat enter the Stilly i
No, there is no vise in the world worth $600; get a grip! I am currently
reviewing the Abel vise which retails for $500 and, while it is a lovely
thing and does everything that a vise is supposed to do, there are many
vises at a tiny fraction of the price that will do the job just as well. It
Nope, Dolly Varden and bull trout are both char (genus Salvelinus) but of
different species. Dolly Varden are S. malma and bull trout, S.
confluentus. They are very closely related, the main morphological
differences being in lateral line scale count, number of pyloric caeca and
gill rakers,
I usually fish for dollies with a 6-wt. That handles the heavy tip and
weighted flies that I favor. I'm not happy with this choice and am going to
work on finding a better solution. Note that Leland was using a 6-wt.,
10-foot, type III sink tip and a fly that was only weighted with bead-chain
Sounds more like a coho. Dollies don't undergo such drastic physical
changes and September is their peak spawning month; I imagine that virtually
all of them are through by now. By the way, if you were fishing near Bedal
Campground you were fishing closed waters. The Sauk, above the mouth of
Leland and I and a couple of other guys went to Kopachuck today and did very
poorly. Leland's buddy got a couple of coho but nobody else touched
anything and there were virtually no fish to be seen. Question 1: I can't
imagine that it would apply to fish. Question 2: Yes, resident coho wander
Blueback is also applied to sockeye and, in some areas to sea-run
cutthroat. Back in the 'fifties, when there was a good fishery for them off
Posession Point in the spring (usually with pop gear and worms), resident
coho were feeder silvers. Silver is commonly applied to kokanee, but at
various
Look at it this way; if you had the opportunity to go fishing, would you
forgo the trip because it wasn't the right moon phase? Ergo: what does it
matter? I wish I had a dollar for every fish I've caught when conditions of
one sort or another weren't right.
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